Irving tug probed in pollution crackdown
Last updated May 16 2006 09:21 AM ADT
CBC News
The U.S. Coast Guard is investigating suspected illegal bilge dumping from an Irving-owned tug boat that docked in Hawaii last month.
The Atlantic Hickory was en route from Shanghai to Jacksonville, Fla., when it stopped in Hawaii on April 5.
Company spokesperson Mary Keith says the boat was boarded as part of a routine inspection. "The tug was released shortly afterward as were the crew," Keith said.
The vessel is now under investigation for possible pollution violations.
An article published in a shipping industry magazine, Tradewinds, says coast guard inspectors obtained a search warrant as part of a campaign against devices known as "magic pipes."
Magic pipes are used to bypass oily water separators on ships. The bypass lets the crew dump polluted bilge water directly into the sea.
Keith says it is the company's belief the investigation will conclude with no charges. "We maintain our belief that there was no illegal discharge. And none of the evidence to date would suggest otherwise."
Terry Shore, the clean water campaign director with the California environmental group Bluewater Network, says the coast guard is cracking down on the owners of boats that use the so-called magic pipes to discharge bilge waste in American waters and is issuing fines as high as $25 million for violations.
"The U.S. Coast Guard at least, is enforcing the oily water laws more strictly than in the past. And they've been working with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and other agencies."
Wednesday, May 17, 2006
THE IRVINGS WISH TO DESTROY THE BEAUTIFUL ISLAND OF HAWAII????
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2 comments:
Accidents weill happen. I don't know just where Saint John would be in this day and age without the Irvings.
I worked for the Company for years before i retired, and never has one negative experience.
The Bosses are so friendly.
Love reading all the comments on the site :
Wow, that's really dumb. Where would Saint John be? Maybe Halifax, maybe Vancouver. Maybe Dublin. Dumping pollutants is no accident. I've got news, politicians are friendly too, but they won't think twice about stabbing you in the back. The same goes for Irvings, it might be nice not having a negative experience, try talking to one of the small papers they've put out of business, the New Brunswickers who can't get decent news because of a media monopoly, or the gas station owners locked out of their stations when they become profitable. Or perhaps the loggers they routinely shortchange, or those who can't get decent education or healthcare because all the money is going as tax breaks for gas terminals or to put more mill workers out of work as taxpayers pay for their mills to 'modernize'.
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